Brooklyn Municipal Liability Lawyer

Brooklyn Municipal Liability Lawyer

Women, minorities face higher rates of medical misdiagnosis

When you start to develop health symptoms in New York, you may visit your doctor so that he or she may assess your condition, tell you what the problem is and advise you on what to do to make things better. Yet, many doctors across New York and the nation are failing to make accurate medical diagnoses. When this happens, it may have a serious impact on your chance of recovery or survival.

Per Healthline, everyone who visits a doctor risks receiving the wrong medical diagnosis. However, studies show that you face a heightened risk of receiving an inaccurate medical diagnosis if you are female or a minority.

Medical misdiagnosis statistics

Studies show that medical diagnostic errors impact an estimated 12 million Americans on an annual basis. These 12 million errors lead to an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 patient deaths annually. The numbers are even higher for women and minorities who visit their doctors. Women and minorities are between 20% and 30% more likely than their white and male peers to receive the wrong medical diagnosis at the doctor.

Medical misdiagnosis prevention

To address the high number of patients receiving the wrong medical diagnoses, some doctors and health care systems are establishing new reporting and liability systems. Some are also using new technologies to help minimize these instances, while others are training their staff members about how to identify and learn from diagnostic errors made in their places of employment.

Diagnostic errors have the potential to have a serious impact on your ability to overcome your condition and return to your life as you know it.